The death of a 19-year-old Lower Nazareth man who had been shot in the head with a BB gun has been ruled accidental, Colonial Regional police said Thursday. Victor Lovero III of 4533 Foxtail Drive died June 24 at St. Luke's Hospital-Fountain Hill. The evening of June 23, Lovero was visiting a relative at 442B Daniels Road in Lower Nazareth when he was shot while talking on the phone, said Colonial Regional police Detective Gary Hammer said. Lovero was holding the BB gun when it was fired, but his death was not self-inflicted or suspicious, Hammer said.

Nearly two years ago, a Lower Saucon Township man told authorities he shot and killed his neighbor's dog with a shot from a BB gun after when he found the dog running near his rabbit and chicken pens. On Saturday, Arthur Santos Melo was charged with animal cruelty by an officer with the Pennsylvania Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals for the dog killing that happened June 27, 2012. Melo, of the 2100 block of Saucon Avenue, remains free on $50,000 unsecured bail. Court records state Melo shot and killed his neighbor's dog, Roscoe, with one shot from a BB gun. After the incident, Lower Saucon police had charged Melo with a summary offense of discharging a weapon within the township.

A 20-year-old Reading man has been arrested on charges alleging he shot a 13-year-old Laureldale boy with a BB gun July 29. Domonique S. Carter-Pech allegedly hit the boy just above an eye. The boy was treated at Reading Hospital. Berks County deputy sheriffs arrested Carter-Peck two days later in the 2000 block of Kutztown Road in Reading under a warrant filed by Laureldale Police Department. He was released following arraignment on charges of simple assault, reckless endangerment, possessing an instrument of crime and disorderly conduct.: Carter-Pech allegedly shot the boy about 3:40 p.m. on Montclair Street while driving after the boy yelled something at a passenger in his vehicle.

A 53-year-old man carrying a BB gun fled from an Allentown police bicycle officer early Monday and was captured when the officer used a Taser on him, according to court records. Jamie Rodriquez of Allentown and another man fled from Allentown police at 2:04 a.m. in the 300 block of North Law Street, court records say. Officers had seen the noisy group of people in the block and went to investigate when Rodriquez and the other man ran off, police said. A bike officer chased Rodriquez, who appeared to be trying to discard something, according to court records.

Windows on eight vehicles parked in Emmaus were shot out, possibly by someone firing a BB gun, earlier this month, borough police said. The incidents were reported on February 2. The vehicles damaged were parked on Frank Drive, Lawrence Drive, Little Lehigh Drive, Berger Street, Spruce Street and Pine Street. Borough police also are investigating a Feb. 6 report of a vehicle break-in on Macungie Avenue. They say a stereo system valued at $100 was taken from the vehicle.

An autopsy was completed on a 19-year-old Lower Nazareth Township man who died Thursday after he was shot in the head with a BB gun, but his manner of death is still pending, according to the Lehigh County coroner's office. Victor Lovero III of the 4000 block of Foxtail Drive was visiting relatives when he was shot with the BB gun, police said. The shooting may have been an accident, but Colonial Regional police Detective Gary Hammer said Friday police were still investigating and would release no new details.

Bethlehem police said a 15-year-old boy was shot in the mouth by a BB gun during Musikfest on Friday night. The shooting happened around 9:20 p.m. in the area of Hotel Bethlehem at 437 Main Street, according to a police report. Police said the unidentified victim did not see who shot him. Police could not immediately provide more details about the incident or how severe the victim's injuries were. The 10-day-festival began on Friday and by 7:45 p.m., Bethlehem police tweeted they already had their first arrests of the year for fighting.

A man was shot several times with a BB gun and slashed with a boxcutter during a robbery attempt Wednesday night in Allentown, police said. The 32-year-old victim drove himself to St. Luke's Hospital-Fountain Hill, police said. Allentown police said the victim was approached by two men around 9:30 p.m. at S. Lumber and Walnut streets and demanded his keys. One of the men was armed with a gun, which was later discovered to be a BB gun and the other had a boxcutter, police said.

A 53-year-old man carrying a BB gun fled from an Allentown police bicycle officer early Monday and was captured when the officer used a Taser on him, according to court records. Jamie Rodriquez of Allentown and another man fled from Allentown police at 2:04 a.m. in the 300 block of North Law Street, court records say. Officers had seen the noisy group of people in the block and went to investigate when Rodriquez and the other man ran off, police said. A bike officer chased Rodriquez, who appeared to be trying to discard something, according to court records.

A drunken man fired a BB gun at the front glass door of the 10th Street police station in Allentown on Christmas morning, causing more than $5,000 in damage, according to court records. One of the city's surveillance cameras caught Jason F. Rosa causing the damage around 6 a.m. Wednesday, police said. He tried to run, but a police officer caught him nearby, court records say. According to a criminal complaint: An Allentown police officer at the station at 1005 Hamilton St. heard the sound of glass breaking and saw the front door was shattered.

A man charged with shooting a 17-year-old boy last month in Allentown must face trial on attempted homicide charges, a district judge ruled Wednesday. Travis Malone, 19, of Allentown allegedly shot Isaiah Dunham three times at 3:30 p.m. Feb. 19 in the 500 block of North Jordan Street, authorities said. Dunham testified Wednesday about the shooting that left him hospitalized for a week, and District Judge Michael Pochron ruled his testimony was enough to send attempted homicide and aggravated assault charges against Malone to trial.

I remember most of the young males in the 1940s and 1950s wanted either a BB gun or a .22-caliber rifle and young girls were happy with dolls. The parents were in control, and school killings were very rare. Routine discipline in today's world would be considered unacceptable. The boys tried to emulate their cowboy heroes seen in films, and drug purchases were made in drug stores — in today's vernacular, pharmacies. Today it's a different story entirely. Parental control is becoming extinct, the violence in films glorifies the most destructive type of carnage imaginable, and it isn't difficult to find an illegal drug dealer, where sometimes a gun's presence has become a form of barter.

A drunken man fired a BB gun at the front glass door of the 10th Street police station in Allentown on Christmas morning, causing more than $5,000 in damage, according to court records. One of the city's surveillance cameras caught Jason F. Rosa causing the damage around 6 a.m. Wednesday, police said. He tried to run, but a police officer caught him nearby, court records say. According to a criminal complaint: An Allentown police officer at the station at 1005 Hamilton St. heard the sound of glass breaking and saw the front door was shattered.

About two weeks before trying to kill his girlfriend by shooting her twice in front of their son, an Allentown man shot the girlfriend's daughter in the buttocks with a BB gun. Stephen Harley Zuber, 33, denied the BB gun shooting in court Tuesday, but convicted himself of the crime by pleading no contest to endangering the welfare of a child, a misdemeanor. In return for the plea, Lehigh County Chief Deputy District Attorney Bethany Zampogna agreed to drop a simple assault charge and have the sentence for the endangerment charge run concurrently with Zuber's state prison term of 20 to 40 years for trying to kill his girlfriend, Ashley Johnston.

Embattled Gilberton police Chief Mark Kessler and his son have been sued by a woman who alleges the boy shot and injured her daughter in March with a BB gun. In a lawsuit filed Monday in Schuylkill County Court, Jennifer Warnstorff and her daughter, Kiersten Manwiller, both of Frackville, alleged Zachary Kessler shot the girl in the leg at the Frackville Recreational Complex. Manwiller needed two surgical procedures to remove the BB from her leg, according to the lawsuit. Warnstorff and Manwiller asked for unspecified monetary damages, plus punitive damages, and demanded a jury trial.

An Allentown man on trial for attempted homicide for shooting his girlfriend twice in front of their child during an argument took the stand Thursday and insisted the gun went off by accident. Stephen Harley Zuber, 33, admitted he flashed a gun at Ashley Johnston as she tried to drive away from their Allen Street home with their 3-year-old son on Aug. 31, 2012, but said the gun accidentally went off twice after he banged it against the driver's side door. "I shot her by accident and I definitely didn't try to kill her," Zuber testified.

An 18-year-old man ran was stopped using a stun gun after he ran from police in south Allentown Saturday afternoon, tossing a BB gun as he was being pursued, police said. After he was caught by police, Alexis Soto-Diaz was found with marijuana stashed in a fanny pack he was carrying, according to court records. Soto-Diaz, with no current address, was charged with possession with intent to deliver marijuana, possession of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia, resisting arrest and disorderly conduct.

A 19-year-old Lower Nazareth Township man died Thursday morning after being shot in the head with a BB the night before in what police said was a "possible accident." Victor Lovero III of 4533 Foxtail Drive was visiting a relative at 442B Daniels Road, Lower Nazareth Township, at 7 p.m. Wednesday when he was shot in the head with the BB gun, Colonial Regional police Detective Gary Hammer said. The shooting did not appear to be suspicious or self-inflicted, but the investigation was not complete Thursday, Hammer said.

Suspecting her live-in boyfriend was doing drugs, Ashley Johnston put their 3-year-old son in her car and told the man she was leaving. Johnston testified Tuesday that Stephen H. Zuber punched her driver's side window on the night of Aug. 31, 2012, as she tried to pull away from their Allentown home and pulled out his gun. She initially didn't feel all that threatened. "I remember seeing the gun and thinking he wasn't going to shoot me," Johnston, 31, testified. Then she heard two shots.

A 20-year-old Reading man has been arrested on charges alleging he shot a 13-year-old Laureldale boy with a BB gun July 29. Domonique S. Carter-Pech allegedly hit the boy just above an eye. The boy was treated at Reading Hospital. Berks County deputy sheriffs arrested Carter-Peck two days later in the 2000 block of Kutztown Road in Reading under a warrant filed by Laureldale Police Department. He was released following arraignment on charges of simple assault, reckless endangerment, possessing an instrument of crime and disorderly conduct.: Carter-Pech allegedly shot the boy about 3:40 p.m. on Montclair Street while driving after the boy yelled something at a passenger in his vehicle.